The Meat Cellar (Book #1 in trilogy)

Prologue

Check it, Sam. Check the basement. You know you want to. It's been over three years. She'll never know.

My inner voice had been overwhelming lately. I stared blankly from the kitchen island as I sat on a bar stool. Elbows on the marble, my chin rested on my folded hands. My wife was at work that afternoon and I had the house to myself. Usually this scenario wouldn't be such a temptation, but today I had been thinking too much.

Lacking the motivation and energy to move, I continued to sit there as the sun poured into the kitchen. I gave her my word that I would never check the basement once she claimed it for herself. She did it right after we got married and I never questioned her sudden interest in keeping me locked out, especially since she offered me full access to the garage.

We had been living together for three and a half years without her showing any signs of wanting to use the empty space. It had a single light bulb and a few wooden shelves with glass jars on them from the previous owner, who probably canned jam in their spare time. I guess I had been too trusting right after the wedding and under the spell of finally finding my life partner. She had been everything to me, so to open that door, I honestly didn't know what would happen. I could ruin our marriage in an instant, or maybe ruin a surprise she had been working on. There was no way to know for sure what would happen, but my inner voice kept urging me on.

C'mon, Sam. You still have a couple of hours before she comes home. Take a quick peek and then pretend like nothing happened. People do it all the time.

Inhaling deeply, I wanted to shut the voice off and sit in silence as I contemplated my decision. I held my eyes closed as I replied to the voice, "But I'm not like other people."

You don't have to be. Besides, if she's keeping secrets from you, how can you trust her? How can you trust your own wife?

My inner voice had a good point, but I wasn't convinced that going into the basement and going back on my word was the best thing to do. I wanted to keep my word and respect my wife's privacy. It could blow up in my face completely, or maybe just a little bit and the end result would be her having to forgive me over the course of several months. On the other hand, I could ruin what we have indefinitely. I wasn't so willing to take that chance.

C'mon, Sam, my inner voice urged again. You've been thinking about it for months now, so just do it already.

"Correction, you've been talking about it for months."

Correction, you've finally been listening.

"Shit," I mumbled after a groan. Hanging my head down as I sighed, I folded my arms down and accepted that something had changed. Maybe this is what was meant to happen. Maybe this was the day I pushed the fear of being divorced to the back of my mind to find out the truth. This was going to be the day when I said 'fuck it' and accepted the fact that I would never be the one to leave no matter what I found out.